In the world of school nutrition, efficiency and accuracy are crucial. For Springfield Public Schools in Massachusetts, delivering nutritious meals to over 28,000 students across 66 public schools and 12 charter/parochial schools is no small feat. We recently had the opportunity to visit Springfield Public Schools, where we saw firsthand how they utilize MCS to manage their operations from Back of House to Front of House. 

Afterschool Nutrition Programs help millions of low-income students across the country get access to healthy meals they might not otherwise receive outside of school. When districts offer an afterschool nutrition program (ANP), eligible students are able to receive a snack or meal on a weeknight, weekend, and school holiday.

In 2017, more than 46,000 districts participated in ANPs offered through both the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) and the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). Together, these programs served over 1.07 million children and participation has continued to grow year over year. 

With Verification just around the corner, there's a number of things you and your staff can do in your Free & Reduced software to make this process even smoother this school year.  In working with our in-house Free & Reduced experts, we've come up with 5 things every district should do now to prepare for the start of Verification: